


Hidden Feelings

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, One-Sided Attraction, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24063028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex's problems with his girlfriend make for an interesting conversation between himself and Jack.
Relationships: Jack Barakat/Alex Gaskarth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Hidden Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“So, explain to me again, why, on a Friday night on tour when we have an off day tomorrow, you decided to not go out with Rian and Alex, to instead stay on the bus with me, when the only reason I’m staying in is because I’m getting over being sick?” Zack asked, taking a seat on the couch in the front lounge next to Jack, who looked a bit bummed out.  
“Would you believe me if I said it was to make sure that you’re okay?” Jack tried.  
“Not really, mostly because you’ve gone out every other night I’ve been sick this week. What’s going on, Jack?” Zack continued, genuinely curious.  
“It’s stupid shit, I don’t want to bother you with it,” Jack replied, blushing some.  
“Well, I want to know. Besides, it’s not like we can do much else right now. Please just talk to me,” Zack tried.   
Jack did have something bothering him, but he couldn’t really go to Alex with it, so he took a deep breath, deciding to confide in Zack.  
“Well, the easy answer is that I just couldn’t deal with Alex bitching about the problems he’s been having with his girlfriend. He’s talked about it almost every night since they started having problems, and I just couldn’t deal with it tonight,” Jack explained.   
“Really, that’s what it is? You’re always offering to help him or let him rant,” Zack said, sounding surprised.  
“That’s still true, I’ll always be glad to help him deal with shit, or talk things out, but I just can’t hear about this anymore,” Jack continued.  
“Would this have to do with the feelings you’ve had for him for the longest time now?” Zack asked, starting to figure everything out.   
“Yes, completely. Hearing him talk about their problems just pisses me off. I know I could treat him so much better than she does, and it breaks my heart to see him so upset and stressed about all of this. He deserves so much better, and I could give him that, but,” Jack stopped, starting to get upset.  
“But he’s straight, and has absolutely no idea that you feel this way,” Zack finished, coughing some.  
“Exactly. I just couldn’t hear him talk about how badly he’s being treated when I know I’d be so much better, but it won’t happen for so many reasons beyond my control,” Jack said back.  
“I see what you mean, I bet that’s a hard position to be in. I think it’s a good idea that you gave yourself a little break from it, but you know that you still have to be there for him with this, right? You’re his best friend, and the only person he’s totally comfortable talking about all of this with,” Zack pointed out.  
“Oh, I know, and I’m more than glad to help him with things, but shit like this is just kind of hard,” Jack replied.  
“I know, that’s why he’s so lucky to have you as a best friend. Do you think you’ll ever tell him about your feelings?” Zack continued.  
“I don’t think I can, man. I don’t want me telling him to affect our friendship or the band, and I don’t want to talk to him about it now, he’s already got enough crazy, confusing shit to deal with. I don’t need to add to it with this,” Jack replied.   
Before Zack could reply, the door to the bus opened, and Rian poked his head in, looking a bit annoyed.  
“You’re back already? Where’s Alex?” Jack asked, sounding surprised.  
“He’s making his way here. When we first got to the bar, his girlfriend called him, and they had a huge argument. Once he finally got off the phone, he refused to talk about it, and just started to drink a bunch. I tried to get him to cool it, but he got angrier when I said that, then just continued to drink more. He’s beyond hammered, and he says that he only wants to be with Jack right now,” Rian explained.  
“Are you going to be alright?” Zack asked, so only Jack could hear him.  
“I’m going to have to be, I guess. I’ll make it work,” Jack assured.  
“Oh my god, no, come to this bus, Alex! I’ll be right back,” Rian said, quickly walking back off of the bus to get Alex.  
“Well, I guess I’m going to go to my bunk for the night. I hope everything goes okay with Alex,” Zack said, getting up from his seat.  
“I’ll be okay, sleep well, man,” Jack replied. They shared a smile, then Zack walked out of the front and to his bunk.   
Jack took a deep breath as Rian came back on the bus with Alex, who stumbled up the stairs as he made his way into the front lounge.   
“Okay Alex, here’s Jack, just like you wanted. I’m going to my bunk, good luck, Jack,” Rian stated. After helping Alex sit on the couch next to Jack, Rian quickly made his way out of the front of the bus.  
“Jack! I missed you at the bar earlier!” Alex exclaimed, heavily slurring his words.   
He had a big, goofy grin on his face that Jack couldn’t help but laugh at; that big smile was one of the first things that made Jack fall for Alex years ago.  
“Sorry I wasn’t there, but it looks like you had a good time,” Jack replied with a small smile.  
“Well, it was alright. My girlfriend called me, and was being a bitch,” Alex said, rolling his eyes.  
“That sucks, man. Hey, you seem like you’re in a good mood now, we don’t have to talk about that shit if you don’t want to,” Jack offered, for himself just as much as Alex.  
“No, I want to talk about it now. I don’t want to remember this conversation in the morning,” Alex explained.  
“That’s cool with me, then. What was the call about?” Jack continued.   
He really didn’t want to have this conversation with Alex while he was so bombed, but he tried to act interested, for Alex’s sake.  
“I don’t even remember, it was a bout ten drinks ago, but it was probably just some stupid shit that doesn’t even matter. She’s been complaining about a lot lately,” Alex stated, rolling his eyes again.   
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you guys are able to figure out your differences soon, I hate seeing you so upset about everything with her,” Jack replied.  
“Yeah, it fucking blows,” Alex slurred, letting out a yawn.  
“Are you tired? I can help you get comfortable in your bunk if you want,” Jack offered.  
“No, I’m not done with this yet. This shit is just so hard, I do so much for her, and it’s like she doesn’t give a fuck about it. I think the only other person I’ve invested so much of my time and energy into is you, Jack. Unlike her, you’ve actually been appreciative of it,” Alex coldly stated.  
“Well, that’s a bit different, we’re best friends. It’s a totally different dynamic than you have with her,” Jack replied.   
Part of him wanted to confess his feelings, but he knew that he couldn’t. Alex was way too drunk to even realize everything he was currently saying, so Jack knew that owning up to everything would be a bad idea.  
“I know, but I wish she could be more like you sometimes. Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we were both into dudes, and just went out with each other?” Alex asked, the alcohol making him giggle at what he’d said.  
“You have no idea,” Jack replied, laughing some in an attempt to hide all of the feelings this conversation was making him have.   
Before Jack could even process what was going on, Alex was leaning closer to him, with shut eyes and puckered lips. Jack’s eyes went wide; while this was what he’d always wanted, he knew he couldn’t let this happen, and take advantage of Alex like this, so he quickly grabbed the pillow that he was leaning on, and held it up in front of his face just in time for Alex to kiss it.  
“What the-“ Alex started, trying to get the pillow taste out of his mouth.  
“Alex, what’re you doing?” Jack asked back.  
“Wait, what? I’m too far gone to even know what’s happening,” Alex said, his cheeks turning a bit red.  
“You tried to kiss me, dude. Do you like me like that or something?” Jack asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.  
“Oh shit, well, you know I’m into guys, all of those drinks have me really fucked up,” Alex explained.  
“I see,” Jack said, feeling a bit disappointed.  
“Sorry for making shit weird there, man,” Alex replied, nervously laughing.  
“You know what, don’t worry about it. I think you should get some sleep. I know you probably don’t want to, but you’ll be really happy you did in the morning,” Jack suggested.  
“I think I actually will, I’m feeling sleepy,” Alex said back. With that, Jack helped Alex to his bunk, then set his friend up as comfortably as he could in his bunk.  
“Sleep well, Alex,” Jack said as Alex shut his eyes.  
“You too, Jack,” Alex replied, already starting to drift off.   
Jack quickly got himself ready for bed, then got into his bunk. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling, unsure of what to think about what had happened during his conversation with Alex. While he wished that Alex made moves on him because he liked him, Jack knew that Alex was just upset, and very drunk, and he was proud of himself for stopping what Alex had started.   
Even though he wanted to be with Alex, he knew that taking advantage of his friend would’ve been fucked up. Jack took a deep breath to clear his head, then turned on his side, slowly drifting off to sleep.  
\-------------  
When Jack woke up the next morning, the first thing he wanted to do was check on Alex in his bunk. He stretched a bit, then got out of his bed, and crouched down to Alex’s bunk, and was surprised to see that it was empty.   
As Jack started to wonder about where his friend was, he heard the sound of someone getting sick coming from the bus bathroom, and immediately knew that it was Alex, probably suffering from the worst hangover in the world.   
Jack got up and made his way to the bathroom, then opened the door to see Alex on the floor, getting sick with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Without saying anything, Jack sat next to Alex, and put a hand on his back.   
Once Alex was finally able to catch a break, he looked over to Jack with a confused expression on his face.  
“Jack, what’re you doing in here?” Alex asked in a raspy voice.  
“Well, it looks like I’m watching my best friend get sick from probably the worst hangover he’s ever had,” Jack sarcastically replied, earning an eye roll from Alex.  
“Yeah, this one’s pretty rough, but don’t feel like you have to sit through this,” Alex said back.  
“You seem to be doing pretty bad, so I want to help. How’s your stomach?” Jack asked, feeling genuinely concerned for his friend.  
“I feel a bit better since I puked, but that’s subject to change; this is my third time in here within the last two hours,” Alex admitted, sounding embarrassed.  
“Well, why don’t we go out to the front lounge for now, and we can get you more comfortable,” Jack suggested.  
“That sounds good, I’d prefer anything to this cold floor,” Alex replied. Jack helped Alex to his feet, then Alex cleaned himself up before Jack led them out to the empty front lounge.   
Alex sat on the couch, and Jack grabbed a few things from the kitchenette for his friend.  
“Okay, here’s an Advil, and a Gatorade that you’ll hopefully be able to keep down,” Jack said, giving everything to Alex.  
“Thanks, man, I feel so dehydrated,” Alex stated, taking the medicine.   
“I bet; you were really drunk last night. Do you remember anything at all?” Jack asked, sitting next to Alex on the couch.  
“I remember my girlfriend calling me at the bar, but I don’t remember what it was about. I know it pissed me off, but that’s about it,” Alex explained.  
“So, you don’t remember anything that happened on the bus when you got back?” Jack continued.  
“No, I don’t even remember how I got to bed. Why, did I do some weird shit?” Alex asked, his eyes widening some.  
“Do you really want to know everything?” Jack prefaced.  
“I think so, no matter how bad it was,” Alex decided.  
“So, Zack and I stayed in last night. Rian helped you on the bus, then the two of them left us alone, because that’s what you’d wanted. You told me about the phone call, and then you said some other things,” Jack started.  
“What other things?” Alex continued.  
“Well, you mentioned that the only other person you’ve put so much time and effort into aside from your girlfriend was me. Then, you made jokes about us being a thing. Then, you tried to, um,” Jack said, trailing off.  
“I tried to what?” Alex asked, looking a bit nervous.  
“You looked like you were trying to kiss me,” Jack finally stated. Alex’s cheeks instantly went red, and he looked at the floor.  
“Shit, I’m sorry for putting you in that position, man. I know neither of us would be into that, so I’m really sorry,” Alex said.  
“You were drunk and upset, you could’ve done a lot worse,” Jack replied, his disappointment from last night coming back.  
“I guess that’s true. I really am sorry, though. I’ve been really stressed about my girlfriend lately,” Alex stated.  
“I know, and I really hate that for you. You deserve someone who will treat you the best, no matter what,” Jack replied.  
“Well, our issues aren’t all due to her, but she’s dealing with it all in stupid ways. I think I might have to end things with her,” Alex confessed.  
“I think you should do whatever you think is the best for both of you. It’ll be hard, but I’ll be here for you through it all,” Jack promised, making both of them smile.  
“Thanks, Jack, you’re a great friend,” Alex replied. Suddenly, Alex groaned and wrapped an arm around his stomach as he shut his eyes.  
“Are you okay?” Jack asked, sounding concerned.  
“This hangover is the worst one I’ve ever had; I think I need to go to the bathroom again. Can you maybe put something on the TV while I’m in there?” Alex requested, getting up.  
“Sure, I’ll do that. If you need anything in there, just yell for me,” Jack instructed. Alex nodded before quickly making his way out of the room.   
Jack turned on the TV and put on a random movie, then got comfortable on the couch. He rested his head on the back of the couch, thinking about everything that had happened within the last twelve hours.   
Jack knew that he’d always have feelings for Alex, and while telling Alex about that now was very unlikely, at least for now, he was glad that Alex was his best friend, and he promised himself that he’d do everything he could to be supportive of him in dealing with this, and in general.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request from someone on my Tumblr! I actually really like how this one turned out, I did a lot of outlining and planning for it, more so than usual, and I really like the end result! As of now, I only have one request left to do, and that'll be going up on Sunday! As always, please send in more ideas that you want written, I'd love to add more to my list! Thank you guys for reading, it means the world that you all enjoy my fics. Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
